


For The Love Of A Child.

by Fan_Fiction_Junkie



Category: Hellsing
Genre: A GUILT TRIP, Angst, Buckle up kids, Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, Walters about to go on a trip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2018-09-11 10:25:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8975968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fan_Fiction_Junkie/pseuds/Fan_Fiction_Junkie
Summary: When unknown facts come to light, the Hellsing crew must come together to protect a child who could overthrow the Nazis. And Walter and Alucard must put aside their hatred. Or risk losing everything they love.





	1. Disappearing.

Alucard was disappearing.

And one could figure out why he was leaving or where he was going.

Integra Hellsing worried her cigar. If the seals were slipping or he was losing his respect for her, it could all go to hell in a hand-basket. There was only one thing that could be done, she needed to have him followed. Integra pressed a button on her phone.

“Walter, could you fetch Miss Victoria and then I need the both of you to come up here.”

“Right away Sir.”

Integra went back to worrying her cigar until Walter and Seras came in. When they stood before her desk she turned around.

“I’m sure you both know that Alucard has been sneaking away lately.”

They both nodded.

“Well, I want you to find out where he’s going, what he’s doing, and why he’s doing it.”

“Of course Sir”. Said Walter

And so Walter and Seras set out to track Alucard to his destination. They followed him for an impressive two miles before they were noticed, but when they were noticed Alucard turned around and headed back to the mansion. When asked where he had been going he merely grinned at them and avoided the question.

And the game of Find Where Alucard is Going began.

Integra used any method available to spy at him. She sent soldiers to line the streets dressed in plain clothes. And when that didn’t she bugged his clothes with cameras and GPS trackers. He found those as well and then left them on her desk. Not for the first time Integra wished that her family hadn’t done all those experiments on Alucard. If for no other reason, Alucard wouldn’t have learned all her families tricks.

*************************

It took two weeks before the managed to track Alucard all the way to his destination. Quiet frankly, it was the last place they would have expected him to visit. They would have understood if he had taken to visiting a graveyard, a funeral home, or a prison. Heck, they would have even understood if he visited a lunatic asylum. 

But a psychiatric ward for traumatized children was a place they would ever have guessed. 

They followed him several times before being able to see who he was visiting. The first few times they followed him all they could make out was the back a someones head. That someone had long dark hair, and whoever it belonged to didn’t seem to say much to Alucard. They would merely sit in companionable silence.

After they followed him a few more times they managed to get a closer look at the child.

The child was a little girl. In addition to her hair, she had high cheekbones and a sharply defined face. Her solemn gray eyes looked out onto the world, taking in far more than she was saying and appearing to see things that the rest of the world couldn’t. When watching her, Walter and Seras couldn’t help but wonder what she had seen in her short life that made her so serious.

 

********************************

It took three more weeks before Integra finally caved in and simply demanded to know what the hell Alucard was doing visiting a small child.

He told her it would be better explained if they all just came with him.

“What do you mean ‘all of us’?”, asked Integra.

“She will involve all of you.”

And so Alucard led Seras, Integra, and Walter to see this mysterious child.


	2. Finding.

The first thing Alucard noticed when they walked into the hospital wasn’t the small children running around, or the kids who were sitting silently and staring at nothing. He didn’t notice the smell of disinfectant or the pristine whiteness of the place.

The first thing Alucard noticed was the screaming.

It sounded like an animal, furious at being trapped and screaming its defiance to the world. There were sounds of flesh hitting flesh and then a crash, as if something had been shattered.

A nurse came hurrying over with a look of relief on her face.

“Mr. Alucard! Thank God you’re here!”, stammered the nurse. “She’s thrown a fit! She’s biting and scratching and she-”

Alucard raised his hands to cut her off.

“Calm down. You’re becoming hysterical”, Alucard reprimanded. “Tell me what’s happened.”

The nurse took a breath. “Well, earlier while outside during free-time she decided to wander off. We went frantic looking for her! We found her several hours later in the kitchen eating all the fruit and covered head to toe in dust. She had climbed a tree outside, and from there she jumped onto the roof. From the roof she crawled through the ventilation ducts and into the kitchen to eat! We’ve been trying to get her into the bath.”

Alucard heaved a sigh. He knew she hated getting into any body of water deeper than a puddle. 

Everyone followed Alucard as he stalked off towards the sound of the screaming.

When he arrived at the bathroom the screaming was coming from, it looked at first glance, that there were half a dozen nurses attempting to subdue a thrashing primate. Taking a closer look he could see that, instead of the wild monkey he has half expected, there was a filthy little girl.

Striding in, Alucard batted aside the nurses attempting to hold down the wildly bucking child and scooped her into his arms.

She cut off mid-scream when she saw who was holding her.

The child’s eyes took on that slightly unfocused look that while Alucard mentally communicated with her. Alucard gathered her into his arms and walked off a bit as Integra looked at Walter and Seras. They merely shrugged at her.

Alucard came back towards them and said, “She’s frightened of the water. Perhaps if you bribed her with food and didn’t fill the tub all the way up she would take a bath.”

“We’re not supposed to bribe the children with food too often. It leads to them being rebellious so they can get sweets.”, said one of the nurses.

Alucard gave her a LOOK. One that suggested she was possibly one of the dimmest creatures on the planet, second only to ghouls.

“She was raised by Western lowland gorillas in the wilds of African swamps. This child never saw a sweet before showing up here. She probably wants a insect or a piece of fruit.” Alucard countered.

Alucard placed the girl in the arms of the stuttering nurse and left the room with Integra, Walter, and Seras in his wake.

When they reached the hallway and sat down on some benches, Integra demanded an explanation.

“Alright Alucard! Enough secrets. I want to know who the hell that girl is and how you know her.” 

And so Alucard told the tale of how he had found a little girl climbing the trees at the edge of the Hellsing property line. When he called her down and tried to ascertain who she was, he realized that there was something not right with her. She crouched down on the ground and when he questioned her her words were broken and hard to understand. 

Soon he gave up on trying verbal speech and tried mental communication instead.

He spoke with her mind to mind and had a lovely conversation. She was frightened because she had been taken away from her home in the jungle. Now she was in a place that was cold, foggy, and very cramped. Nobody would let her outside to play,and nobody would groom her.

Alucard had felt a rare vein of sympathy for the girl. And she was so pleased to find someone who wasn’t human that she simply climbed onto his back and stared petting his hair. Having someone who wasn’t antagonistic or scared witless was such a rare treat that he allowed it.

For several hours they were together, just playing chase or wrestling in the grass. 

When he finally returned her to the hospital that she came from she had been missing for almost 24 hours. The doctors and nurses were having fits, and when he placed her in the arms of one of the nurses she was so flustered that she blurted the entire story when he asked her. 

She told him about how this little girl was found wandering the swamps of Africa with a group of gorillas. For the longest time nobody could get near her, the gorillas were fiercely protective of her, and any traps they set were dismantled. It took weeks, but they were finally able to snatch her in the middle of the night. She never forgave them for it.

There was a nearby village where she was suspected to have come from. When brought to the village she was confirmed to have come from there. About ten years ago an English man had come to the village, he stuck up a relationship with another English woman who was living there. She became pregnant had had a little girl. When the girl was about three years old she went outside to play in her yard, which was near the jungle. When the mother went out to bring her inside for supper the little girl was gone. Despite an extensive search, she was never seen again.

The villagers said that her mother had died of a broken heart several years ago.

“And that’s all they know about her.”, said Alucard. “But I know more.”

“Like what?”, asked Integra.

“Like who her father is.”

There was a short silence.

“Alright, I’ll bite. Who is her father?”

Just then a wet-haired little girl came out of the bathroom, munching on a pear, and stared at them curiously. All cleaned up, and with her dark hair pulled back out of her gun-metal, there was no doubt who’s child she was. She looked like an young, small, female copy of the man.

“Walter is her father.” 

 

****************************

Walter looked like he might faint. He felt like he might faint. Alucard had called the girl over and was speaking with her mind to mind. He would point at each of them individually and then she would look at him and nod in understanding.

They all heard the intercom calling for Elena’s “translator”.

Walter turned to a nurse that had come running out with a towel to dry the girls hair with. As the nurse was rubbing her hair, and getting an annoyed look from the girl, a pretty young lady came striding up the hallway. When she reached them the young woman crouched down and gave the child a hug.

“Good, you’re here.”,said the nurse. “These people are friends of Alucard and want to visit Elena. But they may need someone to explain her behavior to them.”

Walter privately thought that her behavior would require more than one person to explain. She had crawled into Integra’s lap and was currently picking through individual strands of hair.

The young lady came over and introduced herself while attempting to hide her grin from Integra.

She reached out her hand towards Walter.

“My name is Tess Antonise. If you decide to keep your daughter I will be staying with you for awhile. I specialize in gorilla behavior, and seeing as she was raised by them for several of her developmental years she has picked up many of their communication skills. I will help you decode what she is saying.”

Walter shook her hand and glanced Integra, shooting her a confused and mildly worried glance.

Tess noticed the glance and laughed. “I see she is trying to make friends with Miss Hellsing.”

“Sir Hellsing.”, Integra corrected. “And for what reason do you suppose we will be keeping her? We have no rooms for the child to live in.”

“You will keep her for two very good reasons Sir Hellsing. One: I’ve done my research on you lot and I can’t imagine you ever getting married and risking having your organization taken away from you. She could be an heir for you. And two: She is extremely clever. I’ve seen her solve puzzles faster then any other child I have ever seen. As demonstrated by her fiasco earlier.”

“I can’t have an heir that doesn’t talk or read.”, argued Integra.

“She can learn to read. And you can talk alright can’t you dear?”, she asked the child.

“Right!”, piped up Elena. 

“The only thing she really has trouble communicating are her feelings. Her emotions tend to boil over before she can express them verbally. Alucard has helped increase her vocabulary immensely.”

Integra and Walter looked at each other and then seemed to come to a conclusion.

“We will at least see how it will work out.”, said Integra.


	3. Protective

Integra was, quite frankly, shocked at Alucard's behavior with Elena. When they had first gotten her back to the manor Alucard had all but kidnapped the girl and taken her to his rooms while Walter found a room for Elena. He seemed to believe that at any moment some sort enemy might swoop in and snatch Elena and that as long as he was with her she would be safe.

When Elena's room was finally ready for her Alucard sent his shadows to check every nook and cranny of the room. When he apparently deemed the room "safe" Elena was allowed to put her things away. She didn’t have much to bring with her. She brought a few books which included a child’s encyclopedia, a book on various animals found in England, and a Bible. She also brought a broken watch, a broken TV remote, and several metallic things. Apparently, she liked anything that shined.

During supper, Alucard decided to faze up through the dining room floor. Straight through the table. Elena seemed to decide that this was, by far, the most hilarious thing she had ever seen and proceeded to fall off her chair in a fit of laughter.

Then Alucard playfully grabbed her piece of chicken and she chased him around the dinning room until Integra ordered him “Cease causing such a racket!”

All in all, aside from some difficulties with speech and Elena’s belief of eating utensils being utterly pointless, she was a well-behaved child.

*****************

Walter found the idea of having a young child at his age to be highly disconcerting. He hadn’t any idea he could even reproduce at such an age. But the proof that he could, would regularly follow him around the house while he was attending to his duties.

At first, Walter had been concerned that a child would get in the way of his work. Somebody demanding his attention at all times was not something he was prepared to deal with. But he soon found out that, aside from the occasional “What that?” or “What doing?”, she was content to simply follow him around and watch him with curious gray eyes.

The only time that she behaved in any way inconvenient was when she would wrap herself around his legs or take a running leap and latch onto his chest. At first, he thought it was her merely wanting attention and he struggled to be patient with her. Then Walter noticed a pattern. The only times she would do this is if a soldier was coming down the hallway towards her. He soon noticed that this behavior would also only occur if the soldier was male. 

As he washed dishes with Elena’s assistance he thought over of Alucard’s actions earlier today.

He had been lightly dozing on the lawn while Elena searched the grounds for interesting rocks, keeping half an eye on her when a soldier had walked up to her. To Walters' eye, the soldier hadn’t been doing anything suspicious, merely asking her what she was doing poking around in the bushes.

But Alucard was suddenly behind the man and let out a snarl that raised the hairs on the back of Walters' neck. 

The man had fled for his life and word had spread. Now, none of the soldiers would come anywhere near her unless she was accompanied by Integra, Seras, or himself. Walter decided to ask her Tess about her clinginess and Alucard's behavior in the morning.

In the meantime, he was going to see if he could stop Elena from chasing a bubble around the room and get her into bed.

**************

Alucard stalked back to his chambers. After having one of the biggest fights he had ever had with his master he was not happy.

But when he found Elena waiting for him in front of his rooms he did his best to hide his temper. He didn’t succeed and Elena looked concerned, but not frightened. That was something Alucard liked rather a lot about her. She was very good at reading his body language and didn’t go running when his temper flared. She always seemed to know that it wasn’t directed at her.

He scooped her up in his arms and took her into his rooms to sit on the chair with him. Even though he knew that it was probably foolish he couldn’t help but worry about her getting teachers.

She was a pretty little girl, and he could already tell that she was going to grow up to be quite the beauty. And that was exactly what Alucard most feared. He knew better than most what people did to children when they wanted to try out something…different. 

That Sargent Huxley was already taking too much of an interest in Elena. Alucard made a mental note to watch him very closely.

Suddenly, Walter came bursting through the door. On seeing Elena in Alucard’s lap a look of relief crossed his face.

“Thank God.” Said, Walter. “When I checked on her while she was supposed to be in bed I found she wasn’t there. Why aren’t you in your room Elena? You gave me a fright.”

“What’s a fright?” Asked Elena.

“When you worry about somebody or something.” clarified Alucard.

Elena looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded.

“I not in the room because of fright,” Elena answered Walter’s earlier question.

“What frightened you?” Walter asked her.

Elena looked quizzical and then started to make a keening sound. Walter recognized this as the sound she made when she didn’t know the word for something and it was upsetting her.

“It’s alright. Why don’t you show me what was upsetting you?”

Elena took Walters hand and lead him to her room with Alucard trailing in their wake.

*********

Walter stopped short when he entered her room. Behind him, he could Alucard growl.

The walls were covered in words painted with red paint and Walter thanked God that she couldn’t read very well yet. Whoever painted this obviously hated Elena with a passion. Cruel and threatening sentences covered the walls and, now that he looked up, the ceiling as well. If there had ever been any suspicion that it could have been her it was dispelled. There was no way she could have reached the ceiling without a ladder and getting herself covered in paint.

While Alucard examined the room Walter read the writing on the walls.

“I’m going to kill you.”

“You aren’t wanted here.”

“You’re no better than a feral dog.”

“Dogs get put down”

“Fuck you.”

Walter looked down at Elena who was still holding his hand.

“Alucard, keep examining the room. I’m going to take her to see Miss Victoria and Sir Integra.”

Alucard nodded. Turning away, he set his shadows searching the room.

***********

Walter scooped Elena into his arms. He had the sudden urge to make sure she was close to him so he could keep her safe. But safe from what was the big question. Whatever it was, it obviously wanted her gone very badly. For something to hate her that badly could mean a couple of things.  
One: It was just plain mean and enjoyed frightening her.

Or 

Two: It was threatened by her. 

But why would…whatever it was… be afraid of his girl. She was quiet and sweet, and as far as he knew she didn’t cause trouble on purpose. She was a bit odd, but what else could you expect from someone who had been raised in the wilds of Africa? The more he pondered this question the more nervous he got.Whatever else happened, she would be sleeping with him until further notice.

Then Walter found himself getting angry. How dare something hunt his daughter like this? And where did this creature got off talking to Elena that way? Granted, she probably didn’t know what was being said. But that was no excuse!!

Soldiers scattered as he marched angrily through the hallways.

By the time he reached Sir Integra’s office he was practically ready to kick the door down.


	4. Running to safety

Integra started when Walter practically kicked in the door. He was stony faced and clutching Elena to his chest. Elena, for her part, was clutching his shirt in her hands and crying very quietly. 

"What on Earth is the matter?!", shouted Integra. "Is Elena hurt?"

"Not yet, but that's what we're concerned about. Elena came into Alucard's room when I was feeding him and told us she was frightened. When we went to see what the matter was we discovered some very disturbing messages in her room."

"What did they say?", asked Integra.

"It's easier to see for yourself. Come with me and I'll show you."  
***********************************************************************

Elena was unsure of what was going on. She had gone to find her father when she had woken up to find the images on her wall. They were words, but she could only understand a few of them. Besides, the words weren't what really had scared her. They were just her first clue that something was wrong.

After attempting to understand some of the words, she had gotten out of bed to search her room. It might have been one the soldiers since Alucard didn't seem to think they should be trusted.

But she didn't have to search the room. And whatever, or whoever, it was was certainly not a soldier.

The moment her feet touched the ground something had grabbed her around the ankle. She didn't scream. You never made a loud noise when something was hunting you. But when she looked down at the hand around her ankle it started tugging. 

She still didn't scream. Instead, she grabbed a metal statue that was sitting on her bedside and brought down as hard as she could on the things hand.

Then she ran.

Elena knew that right about now was when her father brought Alucard his lunch and she figured she would find him there. She didn't find him or Alucard, but she still waited for one of them to show up. It was safe enough with Alucard living down there. As long he was around everything else was much too afraid to come down here.

Except for her father. He came down here all the time, even more often than Sir Integra did. That just proved how brave he was.

When he had shown up she had told him that she was frightened of something in her room. But what was most frustrating for her was the fact that she didn't have the words to tell him what it was. All she knew was that it was a hand, and that probably wasn't enough.

Now she being held in her father's arms while he and Sir Integra marched down the hallway.  
***********************************************************************

Integra looked around the room at the words painted on the walls. Whatever was doing this was clearly very angry at Elena. Looking back, Integra saw Alucard take deep, loving sniffs of Elena's hair. Walter was giving him an odd look but didn't object.

"What do you think this is Alucard?", asked Integra.

"Not what, but rather who. And I know who. However, I can only guess at why he hates her so much.” Alucard adopted amusing expression “Perhaps it’s because she is acquiring what he so longed for, and without being Hellsing blood.”

Walter wore a flabbergasted expression.

“You can’t mean that Richard’s back!” 

Integra felt ice flow through her veins, her vision began to blur and her ears started to ring. She could face down vampires, ghouls, and any other nasty spook that you cared to mention with nothing but a sword. But even after all these years, the mere thought of her uncle could send a shiver down her spine. To think that he was here again, lurking under beds and hiding in shadows, she couldn’t stand the thought. Her brain was trying to shut down in an attempt to avoid the truth.

She came back to reality when she felt a small touch on her arm. 

She looked down into Elena’s somber eyes. They were a bit puffy from crying, but they still radiated concern. 

Integra took a deep breath to compose herself. She would not let her uncle beat her after all these years.

“Here’s what we’re going to do…”

**********************************************************************************  
It was decided that Elena would sleep with Walter until this whole matter was resolved. During the day she would spend her time either with Integra in her office or in Alucard’s chambers being tutored by Tess. Alucard had assured them all that if she was at all close to him he would be able to be at her side the moment anything happened to her.

Walter sighed as he laid down next to Elena. She looked so small and fragile laying next to him in bed, with her eyes still red from crying. The thought that something he may not be able to fight was terrifying him. He put an arm around her and she snuggled into his chest. She smiled up at him, and in that smile, he could see her absolute certainty that she was perfectly safe with him protecting her.

It made him sick. He could feel every bad choice he had ever made coming down upon him to snatch her away. That would be his penance for his crimes. Losing his little girl.

He combed his fingers through her hair in the way that she liked. Tess said it was probably reminded her of being groomed and that the feeling calmed her and made her feel happy. She was, in fact closing her eyes at the moment, despite her attempts to keep them open.

“Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“Would I be in trouble if I brought home a baby goat?”

Walter was prepared to promise to keep her safe and not let Richard get her. He was not prepared to answer questions about baby goats and where they should and should not live.

And then he remembered where Alucard had taken her earlier in the evening. She had become restless as the sunset, which wasn’t surprising considering that her tutor had called in sick so she was left with nothing to occupy her mind. When Alucard woke up he had offered to take her off their hands and tire her out. He had decided on taking her to a petting zoo at a farm in the countryside.

And she loved animals more than anything else.

“Where are you hiding this goat baby?”

“In the barracks with the Wild Geese.”

Walter was far too tired to deal with this tonight. He told her they would talk about it tomorrow.

**********  
Integra jerked awake. For a moment she listened, wondering what had woken her up. Then she heard it again. Bangs and crashes were coming from where the wear the soldiers were housed. As she shot out of bed she heard the soldiers shouting about something. She got dressed as fast as she could and ran down to the soldiers housing, fully expecting to see Alucard ripping into her men. She prayed that he wasn’t, she didn’t want to get rid of him.

She was relieved almost to the point of tears when she ran outside and saw Alucard AND Walter almost laughing themselves sick. Integra walked up to them and stared at the chaos unfolding in front of her.

“If my general knowledge of animals is correct that is a baby goat I see. Why are the Wild Geese chasing it?”

Alucard was too busy laughing at the sight of Elena chastising the Wild Geese for frightening her goat. Walter answered her instead.

“You recall that Alucard took Elena to the petting zoo? Well, after Elena expressed her love for the baby goat Alucard got it for her. Without regard to where she would keep it.”

“Did he get the goat legally?” asked Integra.

“That has yet to be determined.” said Walter.

Integra couldn’t help but stand and watch the chaos. There was just something so cute about it. Still, it should probably be stopped. Integra was just about to tell Alucard to catch the bloody thing when it suddenly the goat stopped running and walked back to Elena’s side. Then Elena and her goat proceeded to walk over to Integra.

Elena looked up at Integra with those big, soulful, gray eyes and asked, “Can he stay, please? He will be very good.”

Integra looked unsure, but Elena started talking to the goat.

“This Sir Integra. She’s the leader and is very good at keeping hunters away. She’ll be your leader now.”

Before Sir Integra could argue the point the goat astonished them all.

It bent it’s front legs and bowed to Integra.


	5. Voices

Walter’s headache was well on the way to becoming a full blown migraine. But that wasn’t what was bothering him.

Learning that Elena could talk with animals was a surprise, but probably shouldn’t have been unexpected. How else could she have survived in the jungle like that? And Alucard did say that she had an excellent mind to mind communication skills. 

What was giving him a migraine was the complaints from the soldiers. Walter and Integra often sent her on little missions to bring the soldiers messages. Unfortunately, Elena didn’t always arrive at the best of moments. It wasn’t uncommon for the men to bring in some ladies for hire, and normally it wasn’t a problem. But sometimes one of the message recipients would be… busy with his lady friend.

This did not seem to deter Elena in the course of her duties and she would simply wait in an unobtrusive corner for the couple to finish and then deliver the message. The poor soldier nearly had a heart attack when she suddenly appeared. Elena was shocked when the soldier became upset, and even after explaining why the couple was upset she seemed very confused.

Her nurse pointed out that the animals she grew up with had no problems with being public, and that as long as you didn’t interrupt you were fine. 

Walter sighed and made a mental note to not send her on any more deliveries.

There was another problem as well. Elena had become attached to the entire Hellsing organization, and this included Alucard. But the Major was going to be asking for an update on Alucard’s next attack soon. He had become stuck in the middle of a serious problem. Fight for the Major and achieve his goal of killing Alucard, but devastate Elena. Or he could abandon his plans and keep Elena from heartbreak, but risk the lives of those he loved.

“Hellsing would be lost and she would die of a broken heart anyway. Do you want her to die happy or with pain and betrayal in her heart?”

Walter whirled around at the sound of the voice but there was no one in the direction that the voice came from. Just the cross on his wall above his dresser and the Bible that he kept on it.

“Show yourself!” Walter hissed. “I won’t have some good-for-nothing vermin reading my mind and lecturing me. So show yourself.”

“Do you want your eyes burnt out?”

The voice was definitely coming from the area of his dresser.

“Not particularly.” he replied cautiously. 

“Then shut up with that rude shit you’re pulling.”

There seemed to be some distant voices being raised from his dresser area. Almost like a conversation in the background when somebody was using a phone.

“What?? He’s being very rude!” More raised voices and sounds of coughing. “No, I WON’T apologize!” The voice returned to talking with Walter.

“Listen here you little twit. You know which option you should choose, all you have to do is follow your heart and all that happy-go-lucky crap. Now have a good day!”

A suddenly empty feeling filled the room and Walter could tell that whatever had been talking to had gone.

Walter decided to go check on Elena. Just in case.

He never noticed Richard behind him.

****************************************

He found her hiding in one of the many air vents that ran throughout the house. She was holding a squirt-gun. And while Walter was fairly sure of what was in the squirt-gun he still felt compelled to ask.

“It’s holy water,” Elena explained. “For defense.”

Walter held his arms out to her and smiled warmly as she jumped into them.

“Is there a reason that you feel the need to defend yourself with holy water?” Walter asked.

“I put juice from those hot fruits in his blood bags.”

Hot fruits? Walter thought. Then he remembered the ghost peppers that the cook had bought. They kind of looked like fruits he supposed.

“Did Alucard steal your dessert again?” Walter asked.

“Yes!”

Walter nodded in understanding and took Elena up to see Integra.

When he got there, however, he found that Alucard had gotten there first and was now demanding restitution for the indignities he had suffered at Elena’s hands. Judging from Integra’s hysterical laughter it did not appear to be going his way.

Elena squirmed out of Walters' arms and trotted over to Alucard, wrapping her arms around his knees and burying her head in his legs. 

“I’m sorry.” Elena murmured

Walter watched Alucards’ face as it shifted between annoyance, amusement, and anger, before finally settling on the resignation. Everybody knew that Alucard couldn’t resist Elena. Including Elena. 

Alucard merely sighed and ruffled her hair, then turned back toward Integra, who was still snickering.

“Do you have a mission for me, my master?”

“Ahem… Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”

Walter lost interest in the details of the mission, as it seemed to be fairly basic, and took Elena to her room so she could get ready for bed.

Later, when Elena was older and still suffering from nightmares, Walter would regret that decision almost more than any other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, your comments keep me going! So if you want to see more don't forget to comment :)


	6. Terror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember! The only things that will keep this story going are kudos and comments!

Elena was staring out the window at the stars after her dad had come and tucked her into bed, contemplating about the mysteries injuries appearing on her. At first, she had thought nothing of it. She had been injured worse while playing with her previous family in the jungle, so a few scratches had meant nothing. Besides, Alucard played roughly even when he was trying to be gentle, so she had assumed that she had gotten them from him. 

She also wasn’t surprised about the bruises either. After all, hiking in the forest could be slightly hazardous so it wasn’t odd when she had first started finding them.

But now she was puzzled. She had been busy with...What was that females name again? Oh!… Speech Therapist. She had been working with Speech Therapist for several days, but just this morning she had found a fresh scratch on her leg. She had looked for sharp things in the bed but had found nothing.

So now Elena found herself staring up at the stars and trying to figure out what might be causing the scratches. Just as she was dozing off to dreams of stars and moons Elena was awoken by an intense pain in her leg.

Her eyes sprang open. There, on the end of her bed, was a man. He was spreading her legs apart and reaching higher. Elena didn’t know why, but some part of her revolted at the idea of being touched there. But no matter how hard she tried to push her legs together again she didn’t have the strength to overpower this man. 

She tried to scream for her dad, or for anybody, to come and save her. But a hand clamped over her mouth. She felt the man squeeze her hips HARD and push his hips into hers. She began to cry when all of a sudden a white dove swooped in through the window that hadn’t been open before. It began to peck at the man's eyes and he released her mouth to try and swat at it.

Elena screamed till her lungs were empty.

*****

Walter was bringing some late-night tea to Sir Integra when Elena began to scream. It rang throughout the mansion causing Walter to drop the tea tray, Seras and Alucard to stop arguing and run towards the sound, and for Integra to drop her phone mid conversation with the queen.

*****  
Somehow-and Walter would never fully figure out how-Walter managed to get to Elena’s room even faster than Alucard, with the others not far behind him.

Walter’s roar of rage when he opened her door was enough to give even Alucard pause before entering the room as well.

*****  
Walter held Elena to his chest as she cried and shook. He had never been so furious or so frightened than when he had seen the figure between Elena’s legs. He had cast his wires at it, but it disappeared before they could reach the figure. 

Knowing that he might not be able to physically fight the man left Walter feeling incredibly helpless.

“What in Gods name happened, Walter?!” Integra demanded. “Why was she screaming?”

“A man was holding her down. Or a man shaped figure was. It disappeared before my wires could reach it. I think it was trying to… Well…” Walter was couldn’t even get the word “rape” out. He merely showed them hand-shaped bruise that was already starting to form. 

Alucard let out a soul-freezing growl at the sight and Seras, who normally looked like a vaguely nervous kitten, now suddenly looked like an upset mother tiger.

Integra looked like she was already planning an offensive action against the creature. She attempted to ask Elena what the creature looked like, but Elena had devolved into frighted animal noises.

Integra let out a sigh. “Well, she’s clearly too upset to answer any questions. I think the best thing we can all do is go back to bed. Naturally, Elena will sleep with either Walter or Alucard.”

Walter picked Elena up and started to his room where he put Elena to bed and climbed in with her. He didn’t bother changing clothes, he wanted to be ready to go. Just in case.

*****  
Walter woke suddenly to movement in the bed. He faked sleep so he could assess the situation. Elena had woken up but she didn’t seem frightened. Walter looked up as well and saw that Alucard had crawled onto the other side of the bed. Now Elena was wedged between the two of them and already drifting off to sleep again, apparently content in the knowledge that her father was on one side of her and a vengeful, sadomasochistic vampire was on the other.

Well, Walter mused. Elena won’t be able to claim a boring upbringing. 

Walter drifted in a doze for a while before being jostled awake by Elena. She had sat up and was looking at Alucard. He watched as she ran her fingers through his hair while making soft cooing sounds. Alucard seemed to be in some kind of distress.

Walter decided it was none of his business and drifted off again, woken only briefly as a long, red clad arm draped across Elena and onto himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember! The only things that will keep this story going are kudos and comments!


	7. Tensions Appear

Walter woke with his heart in his throat, not knowing why he was panicking until he realized that Elena wasn't beside him. He was already halfway risen from the bed when Alucard mumbled: "She went to get Eggo's."

He loosed a breath and flopped back down on the bed. He was never this scared before he realized he had a child. When did he become so jumpy? If he had known that having a kid would turn him into a nervous wreck he would never have forgone protection. Well... Maybe he would have. Elena was very cute, and most of his worry was (italics) about losing her. Speaking of Elena, there was a shriek of delight and she came running into the room to jump on the bed. Walter smiled down at her as she snuggled into his chest and his normally predatory eyes 

"Da?"

"Yes?"

"What is a faggot?"

Walter was shocked at her choice of wording, although he had to admit that her English had improved greatly with Alucard's mind to mind tutelage. But which type of faggot did she mean? Hopefully not the one he was thinking of.

"Where did you hear that word?" He asked.

"From Cacat cu ochi."

Walter heard Alucard snort and gave him a swift elbow to the ribs. He had looked up Cacat cu ochi when Alucard first referred to the soldier that way and he didn't want Elena repeating it. It seemed he was too late however and she was already contaminated.

"What else did he say? What was he talking about when he said faggot?"

Elena concentrated for a moment as she recalled the conversation.

"He said 'He's definitely a faggot. I bet they're fucking.".

Hearing those dirty words come out of Elena's innocent mouth was a shock to his system. Walter's eyes widened and even Alucard pulled himself from his sleepy haze to stare at her.

Walter tried to think of an indirect way to ask Elena if she knew what “fucking” meant and came up with nothing. Luckily, it seemed that Elena had already lost interest in the conversation and was currently busy sticking her hand in Alucard’s mouth. Every time she did that it made Walter’s heart clench. 

“Come here, Elena.” Walter really didn’t want to ask her about her encounter with whatever was tormenting her the previous night in case it scared her, but figured it was worth it if it got her hand out of that death-trap. Alucard gave him a sour look as Elena pulled away, which Walter ignored.

Placing her on his lap, he asked “Did you get any more visitors while we slept? Were you attacked again?”

She shook her head. “He did not come back. He was afraid of the man in the room.”

“What man?” Walter asked. But Elena just shrugged. When questioned further she said she didn’t know who he was, and the only description she could provide was that he was bright and, oddly Walter thought, warm.

Walter looked at the clock and told Elena that it was time for her early evening lessons. He scowled at Alucard’s smirk as Elena grabbed his hand and brought him with her, but he couldn’t find a reason to object. Instead, he got dressed and started making Sir Integra’s tea.  
*****************************************************************  
Elena might not always have the words for what she wanted to say, or for what she thought, but she wasn’t stupid either. She had noticed the way that her Da’ and Alucard didn’t seem to like each other. 

She remembered the big Silverback that had led the troop she had lived with much of the time. The troop and been relaxing for the morning, but there had been that tension in the air that morning, just like there had been for many days.

A young male had been lingering around and staring at the females. He hadn’t made a move yet, and posturing had been enough to get him to leave in the past. But he had to get bolder, and the Silverback had started to grumble about him. The younger male and been getting bolder and had started to posture back at the Silverback, soon he was always about and the tension was constant.

Walter and Alucard seemed that they were always posturing like that Silverback and that new male.

The new male had left with a broken jaw and fewer teeth. 

He had been found dead a week later.

It had upset Elena back then, and she didn’t think she could stand losing either her Da’ or Alucard.  
softened.  
But she didn’t understand why they were fighting. They were part of the same troop, they didn’t eat the same things so there was no competition for food, and there were no females that they were fighting over. It confused Elena and she was becoming more and more upset by it.

But she didn’t have the words to ask them why they were upset or to tell them to stop. She had tried to show Alucard that she was upset, but her memories of the troop compared to him and her Da’ hadn’t made sense to him.

Seeing her Da’ and Alucard acting like that this morning had upset her greatly, so she was separating the two of them by taking Alucard to her lessons.

Apparently she going to learn something called Addition and Subtraction.  
*****************************************************************

Elena was upset about something, Alucard could tell. But even Alucard could tell what about. Elena, it appeared, was very skilled at noticing when he was trying to read her mind. 

He watched from the safety of the shadows that were under the desk, as Elena was taught subtraction and addition. She had been having trouble understanding the concept of Arabic numerals, but now that the tutor had started using objects instead of numerals she seemed to be getting the hang of things. When Alucard had nicked her grapes yesterday she seemed to have understood the concept of subtraction well enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN NEXT. MY FAVORITE IDEA WILL BE PLACED IN THE STORY AND YOU WILL RECEIVE CREDIT.


End file.
